Grain-car door.



A. N. 81; F. P. HOPKINS.

(Application filed fiept. 19, 1898. Renewed May 12, 1899.)

Patented June 27, I899.

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No. 627,852. Patented June 27, I899. A. N. & F. P. HOPKINS.

GRAIN CAB DOOR.

(Application filed Sept. 19, 1898. Benewewmay 1B, 1899.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

INVENTORS J. JW Jfopkns. 1 .5, fipkb'nb.

UNITE STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALBERT N. HOPKINS, OF DULUTH, MINNESOTA, AND FRANKLIN r. HOPKINS, OF HYATTSVILLE, MARYLAND, ASSIGNORS OF ONE-HALF To MARCUS W. BATES, OF sT. PAUL, MINNESOTA. I

GRAIN-CAR DOOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent NO. 627,852, dated June 27,1899. Application filed September 19, 1898. Renewed May 12, 1 899. Serial No. 716,516. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ALBERT N. HOPKINS,Of Duluth, in thecounty of St. Louis and State of Minnesota, and FRANKLIN P. HOPKINS, of

Hyattsville, in the county of Prince Georges and State of Maryland, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Grain-Car Doors, of which the following is a specification.

This invention is an improvement in grain- [0 doors for railway-cars, and has for an object to provide a simple inexpensive construction which will be efficient and durable, will form a tight closure for the grain, and can be easily opened.

The invention consists in certain novel constructions and combinations of parts, as will be hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims.

I In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a door provided with our improvements. Fig. 2 is a vertical section thereof on about line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on about line 3 3 of Fig. 1, and Fig. 4isa detail view illustrating the adjusting connec 2 5 tion and the seat and bearings for same.

In car-doors of this class it is important to provide a door which will open outward, may

' 40 plates 0 form bearing-abutments for the looking and sealing plates presently described.

The door D is made of such size as to permit it to pass freely between the plates C and is suspended by the bars E, to which the door 5 is hinged at F, so the door D can swing outward on the pivotal connection E of the bars E with the car or inward on its hinged con-v nection with the bars E.

The door D extends at D above the hinged connection F, and such extension may be of any desired length to permit the loading of the car to any desired height.

When the car is empty, the door and it hanger-bars E can be folded up, as shown in dotted lines, Fig. 2, and secured by a hook G or other suitable fastening. In so folding the door and bars E the door may be first turned upward from its lower end, as indicated by the arrow-line H, swinging on the pivot F as a center, and then the bars E and door D be jointly swung on the arrow-line H, the connection E being the center of such movement.

To look the door in closed'position, we provide the locking and sealing plates II, arranged on the outer side of the door at its opposite edges and extending from top to bottom of the said door. These plates I are movable inward and outward and may be projected beyond the edges of the door to bear in rear of the abutment-plates O, as shown most clearly in Fig. 3. Inthis position the plates I lock the door from outward movement and seal the contents of the car against leakage and also lock the door in closed position. These plates I are adjusted laterally in and out by means of the adjusting connection J, which is suitably threaded at its ends to receive the reversely-threa'ded ends of the rods 1, whose outer ends are connected with the plates I. These rods 1 are longitudinally movable in guides K and L.

The adjusting connection J is seated in a recess J and may be turned by the sliding rod J 2 to set the locking and sealing plates I in or out, as desired.

The guides L for the rods I have base-plates L secured to the door and lying at their in ner edges on opposite sides of and flush with the side walls of the recess J and bear on opposite sides of the connection J forming a metallic bearing for the ends of said connection, operating to secure it properly in position and permitting it to be easily turned as desired. r

A handle M on the inner side of the door facilitates manipulating the door in folding and unfolding the same.

The dooris simple in construction, may be easily operated, and will be found practical and eflicient.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, isv 1. In a car-door the combination of the ear having its doorway provided with the upright bearing-plates, the door having a recess for the adjusting connection, the locking and sealing plates movable on said door into and out of position to abut the said upright plates, the rods connected with said plates, the adjusting connection threaded to said rods, and the guides for said rods having baseplates arranged on opposite sidesof the recess for the adjusting connection in position to bear against the opposite ends of the adjusting connection all substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. In a car-door the combination with the ALBERT N. HOPKINS. FRANKLIN P. HOPKINS.

Witnesses to the signature of Albert N. Hopkins:

JOHN H. BOYLE, I. GRETTUIN. YVitnesses to the signature of Franklin 1?. Hopkins:

SOLON O. KEMON, PERRY B. TURPIN. 

